Michael Feagles fires 59, secures two-stroke 18-hole lead at the BMW Charity Pro-Am
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Things to Know
Second-year Korn Ferry Tour member Michael Feagles cards a bogey-free 12-under 59, the ninth sub-60 round in Korn Ferry Tour history (established 1990), and claims the second 18-hole lead/co-lead of his career
Three-time Korn Ferry Tour champion David Skinns records a career-low round with a bogey-free 10-under 61 and sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the fifth time this season
Fred Biondi, who recently finished No. 2 in the PGA TOUR University Ranking, makes his professional debut with a bogey-free 7-under 64 and sits T7
Of the 16 players to score 6-under par or better Thursday, 11 came at the Thornblade Club
First-Round Lead Notes
3: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win BMW Charity Pro-Am
- Rod Rampling (2015, 1st), Tripp Isenhour (2003, T1), and Russell Beiersdorf (1992, 1st)
0: First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023
- Last: David Lingmerth – 2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship
Michael Feagles (1st / -12)
Cards the ninth sub-60 round in Korn Ferry Tour history (established 1990) with 12 birdies (in order, Nos. 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
Hits 16 of 18 greens in regulation, nine of 13 fairways, and totals 23 putts, including an estimated 25-footer for birdie on his final hole, the par-3 ninth
Posts the second sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, with the other being a 12-under 59 by Mac Meissner in the second round of the LECOM Suncoast Classic (April 21, 2023)
Third season in Korn Ferry Tour history with multiple sub-60 rounds (2013/Russell Knox and Will Wilcox; 1998/Notah Begay III and Doug Dunakey)
Prior to this season, the last sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour was Sam Saunders’ 12-under 59 at the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance
Becomes the third player to make 12-plus total birdies in a sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour (Sam Saunders/13; Stephan Jaeger/12)
Makes 12 total birdies (all birdies), becoming the ninth player in Korn Ferry Tour history to record 12-plus total birdies in a round; Sam Saunders holds the Tour record with 13 (all birdies/2017 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance/Round 1), while Feagles joins seven other players who recorded 12 total birdies in a round
Cards the third sub-60 round recorded in the first round of a Korn Ferry Tour event (Sam Saunders/59/2017 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance; Stephan Jaeger/58/2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae)
Records the eighth sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour which began on hole No. 10
Career-low round in PGA TOUR-sanctioned play prior to Thursday was 64 on two occasions (2022 Visit Knoxville Open/Round 1/Korn Ferry Tour; 2021 Rolling Green Championship/Round 4/PGA TOUR Canada)
Season-low round in 10 previous starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this year was 7-under 65 in the second round of the Astara Chile Classic
Previous career-high for total birdies in a single round in 33 starts and 93 rounds on the Korn Ferry Tour was nine (2023 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club/Round 2 – nine birdies)
Bidding to join Jason Gore (2005 Cox Classic) and Stephan Jaeger (2016 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae) as the only other players to card a sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour and win the event
Quotables
Michael Feagles on his 12-under 59… “It was pretty surreal for me because I wasn't really ever thinking about it out there. I had an eagle putt on 5 that would have gotten me to 9-under and I missed, and I basically just dropped the 59 thought. It was just, oh, play good coming in. And then hit it to like a foot on six, two feet on seven and then I'm like, ‘Okay, well, if I can birdie the last two, I can do it,’ and I did. But honestly, like until the actual ball went in the hole, I was like I don't think this is going to happen. There's no way this happens, right? People don't just shoot 59. And it did, yeah. Feeling great, feel great.”
Michael Feagles on what the key factor was in carding the 12-under 59… “I hit it so good today. I probably made like, how many birdies, 12 birdies? Like nine of those were inside five feet. I just hit it great and just kept momentum going all day. It felt for the entire round I was hitting it exactly where I was supposed to hit it. I can't think of a single shot where I was like, ‘oh, that's no good.’ Just all day right where I wanted to be and just kept making putts, making birdies, which was the momentum.”
Michael Feagles on how it feels to hold his first 18-hole lead of the season… “It feels great. If you look at my scores as of late, you probably wouldn't see me doing this, but like it's just been golf. Honestly, golf's just been doing it to me. Like certain weeks parts of my game will feel really good and other parts will feel like I’ve literally never played before. So that's difficult, but I finally feel like I'm piecing it all together. Obviously, I pieced it really well together today. I just feel like I've been trending, so it's great to be up there again. I love being in contention in golf tournaments, that's my favorite thing ever and those nerves and pressure, I think is cool. It's a privilege to feel that and come down these fairways and have people watching you and cheering you on and being in contention for a golf tournament. It's great. I'm excited for the rest of the week.”
Josh Teater on his 10-under 62 in the opening round… “On the second hole I hit the stick with my 9-iron and had about a six-footer and made that putt. Then third hole, I hit it about eight feet and made that putt. So that was kind of what got me going, watching a couple putts go in early and iron shots going where you're looking. It's just one of those days you can't really describe or explain. You're just kind of along for the ride.“
Notes
Josh Teater (T2 / -10) cards a bogey-free 10-under 62 after birdying two par 5s, five par 4s, and three par 2s
- Entered this week with three top-25 finishes in his last three starts (T9 at AdventHealth Championship, T16 at Visit Knoxville Open, T18 at last week’s UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH)
- Sits inside the top three after 18 holes for the second consecutive week (T3)
Three-time Korn Ferry Tour champion David Skinns (T2 /-10) records a new career-low round with a bogey-free 10-under 61
- Entered the week with back-to-back top-10 finishes in his last two starts (T9 at AdventHealth Championship, T3 at HomeTown Lenders Championship)
- Marks his eighth consecutive round sitting inside the top 10 (HomeTown Lenders Championship: T10, T3, T4 / AdventHealth Championship: T1, T9, T9, T2)
Logan McAllister (4th / -9) recorded a bogey-free first round, carding an eagle at the par-4 seventh along with seven birdies, en route to a career low 61 to sit inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the third time this season
Making just his third Korn Ferry Tour start of the season and 12th of his career, Logan McCracken (T5 / -8) cards a career low 8-under 64 and sits inside the top 10 for the first time after any round on Tour (previous best: T19 at 2023 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club)
Chase Parker (T7 / -7) opened with five straight birdies on Nos. 1-5 and rolled in an additional two birdies at Nos. 9 and 13 to finish with a bogey-free 7-under 65, tied for his lowest round of the season
Korn Ferry Tour rookie Alex Scott (T12 / -6) cards a career low 6-under 66 and sets a new personal best 18-hole position (previous best 18-hole position was T89 at the 2023 The Panama Championship)
Five of the top eight finishers from the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking made their professional debut Thursday, with four of the players sitting inside the top 30 after the first round: Fred Biondi (T7 / -7), Patrick Welch (T17 / -5), Adrien Dumont de Chassart (T17 / -5), Ryan Burnett (T30 / -4), William Mouw (T55 / -3)
Making his second Korn Ferry Tour start of the season, sponsor exemption Kyle Reifers (T17 / -5) tallied five birdies and one eagle against three bogeys
Of the 16 bogey-free rounds carded on Thursday, 13 came at the Thornblade Club, with the exceptions being Teater, Parker and Zihao Jin (T30 / -4)